With only a handful of Relais & Chateaux properties in Canada, which includies Lake Louise's Post Hotel and Tofino's Wickaninnish Inn, it usually takes something pretty special for a property and its food and drink program to receive the luxurious accredidation. Officially opening on May 1st for the 2018 season, Sonora Resort is one of the most unique by far. Tucked into a teeny island at the heart of where the North Pacific waters touch the coastal rainforests of B.C., visitors can only travel to Sonora by helicopter, sea plane, or boat. How's that for charmingly remote?

When it comes to food, the resort offers plenty of interesting activities to keep a food loving person occupied, like wild salmon fishing or river fly fishing; both of which turns your catch of the day into breakfast, lunch or dinner at the resort restaurant or packaged up and sent home with you.

For 2018, Sonora has brought on a new pastry chef, Dominic Fortin, formerly of Whistler's famed Bearfoot Bistro. Originally from Quebec City, Fortin has been considered one of the top pastry chefs in British Columbia for years, most notably recognized for his beautifully composed desserts that previously served as sweet finishes for chef Melissa Craig's tasting menus in the lively mountain town.

“Sonora Resort is one of those timeless places that you always remember,” says Fortin on joining the team at Sonora. “Although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bearfoot, I wanted a change. I jumped at the chance to once again create unique desserts for guests against the stunning backdrop.”

The property's restaurant is headed up by chef Lukas Gurtner, who will also be releasing a Sonora Resort cookbook later this month. The compilation of recipes has been assembled by Gurtner with the help of past and present chefs and will showcase a myriad of B.C. ingredients as well as the culinary creativity that the resort has become known for over the years.